always to say, that when he came to his estate I should have a lease of my father's tenement for nothing. I 'came up to town with him to Westminster-school; at which time he taught me, at night, all he learnt; and 'put me to find out words in the dictionary when he was about his exercise. It was the will of Providence that 'Mr. Harry was taken very ill of a fever, of which he 'died within ten days after his first falling sick. Here was the first sorrow I ever knew; and I assure you, Mr. Spectator, I remember the beautiful action of the 'sweet youth in his fever, as fresh as if it were yesterday. "If he wanted any thing, it must be given him by Tom: When I let any thing fall through the grief I was under, he would cry, Do not beat the poor bov: give him some more julep for me, nobody else shall give it me. He 'would strive to hide his being so bad, when he saw I 'could not bear his being in so much danger, and com'forted me, saying, Tom, Tom, have a good heart. When I was holding a cup at his mouth, he fell into 'convulsions; and at this very time I hear my dear masters last groan. I was quickly turn'd out of the room, and left to sob and beat my head against the wall at my leisure. The grief I was in was inexpressible, and every body thought it would have cost me my life. In a few days my old lady, who was one of the house-wives of the world, thought of turning me out of doors, because I put her in mind of her son. Sir Stephen proposed putting me to prentice; but my lady being an excellent manager, 'would not let her husband throw away his money in acts of charity. I had sense enough to be under the utmost indignation, to see her discard with so little concern, one her son had loved so much; and went into the house to ramble where-ever my feet would carry me. The third day after I lef Sir Stephen's family, I was 'strolling up and down the walks in the Temple. A young gentleman of the house, who (as I heard him say. 'afterwards) seeing me half-starved and well-dressed, "thought me an equipage ready to his hand, after very little inquiry more than Did I want a master? bid me follow him; I did so, and in a very little while thought, myself the happiest creature in this world. My time was taken up in carrying letters to wenches, or messages to 'young 6 young ladies of my master's acquaintance. We rambled from tavern to tavern, to the play-house, the mulberrygarden, and all places of resort; where my master engaged every night in some new amour, in which and drinking he spent all his time when he had money. During these extravagances I had the pleasure of lying on the stairs of a tavern half a night, playing at dice 'with other servants, and the like idlenesses. When my master was moneyless, I was generally employed in transscribing amorous pieces of poetry, old songs, and new lampoons. This life held till my master married, and " he had then the prudence to turn me off, because I was in the secret of his intrigues. 'I was utterly at a loss what course to take next; when at last I applied myself to a fellow-sufferer, one of his mistresses, a woman of the town. She happening at that 'time to be pretty full of money, clothed me from head to foot; and knowing me to be a sharp fellow, employed me accordingly. Sometimes I was to go abroad with her, and when she had pitched upon a young fellow, she thought for her turn, I was to be dropped as one she could not trust. She would often cheapen goods at the New-Exchange; and when she had a mind to be attacked, she would send me away on an errand. When a humble servant and she were beginning a parley, I came immediately, and told her Sir John was come home; then she would order another coach to prevent being dogged. The lover makes signs to me as I get behind the coach, I shake my head it was impossible: I leave < my lady at the next turning, and follow the cully to 'know how to fall in his way on another occasion. Be'sides good offices of this nature, I writ all my mistress' 'love-letters; some from a lady that saw such a gentle'man in such a place in such a coloured coat, some shewing the terror she was in of a jealous old husband, others explaining that the severity of her parents was such (though her fortune was settled) that she was willing to run away with such-a-one, though she knew he was but a younger brother. In a word, my half e lucation and love of idle books, made me out-write all that made love to her by way of epistle; and as she was extremely 'cunning, she did well enough in company by a skilful 'affectation affectation of the greatest modesty. In the midst of all this I was surprised with a letter from her and a ten pound note. Honest Tom, "YOU will never see me more. I am married to a very cunning country gentleman, who might possibly guess something if I kept you still; therefore "farewell. When this place was lost also in marriage, I was re'solved to go among quite another people for the future; and got in butler to one of those families where there is a coach kept, three or four servants, a clean house, and a good general outside upon a small estate. Here I lived very comfortably for some time, till I unfortunately found my master, the very gravest man alive, in the garret with the chambermaid. I knew the world too well to think of staying there; and the next day pre'tended to have received a letter out of the country that my father was dying, and got my discharge with a bounty for my discretion. "The next I lived with was a peevish single man, whom I stayed with for a year and a half. Most part of the time I passed very easily; for when I began to know him, I minded no more than he meant what he said; so 'that one day in good humour he said, "I was the best 'man he ever had, by my want ofrespect to him." 'These, Sir, are the chief occurrences of my life, and 'I will not dwell upon very many other places I have been in, where I have been the strangest fellow in the world, where nobody in the world had such servants as they, where sure they were the unluckiest people in the world in servants, and so forth. All I mean by this representation, is to show you that we poor servants are not (what you called us too generally) all rogues; but that we are what we are according to the example of our superiors. In the family I am now in, I am guilty of no one sin but lying; which I do with a grave face in my gown and staff every day live, and almost all day long in denying my lord to impertinent suitors, and iny lady to unwelcome visitants. But, Sir, I am to let 'you you know, that I am, when I can get abroad, a leader of the servants: I am he that keeps time with beating my cudgel against the boards in the gallery at an opera; I am he that is touched so properly at a tragedy, when 'the people of quality are staring at one another during "the most important incidents; when you hear in a crowd a cry in the right place, a hum where the point is 'touched in a speech, or a huzza set up where it is the ' voice of the people; you may conclude it is begun, or 'joined by, ་ T Sir. €6666666€€€€€€€€€ No 97. THURSDAY, June zr. By STEELE. Projecere animas--- VinG. Æn. l. 6. v. 436. They prodigally threw their souls away. AMONG the loose papers which I have frequently spoken of heretofore, I find a conversation, between Pharamond and Eucrate upon the subject of duels, and the copy of an edict issued in consequence of that dis Course. Eucrate argued, That nothing but the most severe and vindictive punishments, such as placing the bodies of the offenders in chains, and putting them to death by the most exquisite torments, would be sufficient to extirpate a crime which had so long prevailed and was so firmly fixed in the opinion of the world as great and laudable; but the King answered, That indeed instances of ignominy were necessary in the cure of this evil; but considering that it prevailed only among such as had a nicety in their sense of honour, and that it often happened that a duel was fought to save appearances to the world, when both parties were in their hearts in amity and reconciliation to each other; it was evident, that turning the mode another way would effectually put a stop to what had being only as a mode: that to such persons, poverty and shame VOL. II. D were torments sufficient; that he would not go further in punishing in others, crimes which he was satisfied he himself was most guilty of, in that he might have prevented them by speaking his displeasure sooner. Besides which the King said, he was in general averse to tortures, which was putting human nature itself, rather than the criminal, to disgrace; and that he would be sure not to use this means where the crime was but an ill-effect arising from a laudable cause, the fear of shame. The King, at the same time, spoke with much grace upon the subject of mercy; and repented of many acts of that kind which had a magnificent aspect in the doing, but dreadful conse quences in the example. Mercy to particulars, he observed, was cruelty in the general: that though a prince could not revive a dead man by taking the life of him who killed him, neither could he make reparation to the next that should die by the evil example; or answer to himself for the partiality, in not pardoning the next as well as the former offender. 'As for me, says Pharamond, I have conquered France, and yet have given laws to my 'people: the laws are my methods of life; they are not a diminution but a direction to my power. I am still absolute to distinguish the innocent and the virtuous, to give honours to the brave and generous: I am absolute in my good-will; none can appose my bounty, or prescribe rules for my favour. While I can, as I please, reward the good, I am under no pain that I cannot pardon the wicked; for which reason, continued Pharamond, I will effectually put a stop to this evil, by ex'posing no more the tenderness of my nature to the importunity of having the same respect to those who are miserable by their fault, and those who are so by their misfortune. Flatterers (concluded the King smiling) repeat to us princes, that we are Heaven's vicegerents; let us be so, and let the only thing out of our power be to do ill.' < Soon after the evening wherein Pharamond and Eucrate had this conversation, the following edict was published. PHARAMOND'S |